ते मय्यपेताखिलचापलेsर्भके दान्तेsधृतक्रीडनकेsनुवर्तिनि । चक्रु: कृपां यद्यपि तुल्यदर्शना: शुश्रूषमाणे मुनयोsल्पभाषिणि ॥२४॥

te mayy apetÄkhila-cÄpale 'rbhake
dÄnte 'dhá¹›ta-krÄ«á¸anake 'nuvartini
cakruḥ ká¹›pÄá¹ yadyapi tulya-darÅ›anÄḥ
Å›uÅ›rÅ«á¹£amÄṇe munayo 'lpa-bhÄá¹£iṇi

2 times this text was mentioned in purports to other texts: LSB(1) , NBS(1)

 te - they; mayi - unto me; apeta - not having undergone; akhila - all kinds of; cÄpale - proclivities; arbhake - unto a boy; dÄnte - having controlled the senses; adhá¹›ta-krÄ«á¸anake - without being accustomed to sporting habits; anuvartini - obedient; cakruḥ - did bestow; ká¹›pÄm - causeless mercy; yadyapi - although; tulya-darÅ›anÄḥ - impartial by nature; Å›uÅ›rÅ«á¹£amÄṇe - unto the faithful; munayaḥ - the muni followers of the VedÄnta; alpa-bhÄá¹£iṇi - one who does not speak more than required.


Text

Although they were impartial by nature, those followers of the VedÄnta blessed me with their causeless mercy. As far as I was concerned, I was self-controlled and had no attachment for sports, even though I was a boy. In addition, I was not naughty, and I did not speak more than required.

Purport

In the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ the Lord says, “All the Vedas are searching after Me.†Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya says that in the Vedas the subject matters are only three, namely to establish the relation of the living entities with the Personality of Godhead, perform the relative duties in devotional service and thus achieve the ultimate goal, back to Godhead. As such, vedÄnta-vÄdÄ«s, or the followers of the VedÄnta, indicate the pure devotees of the Personality of Godhead. Such vedÄnta-vÄdÄ«s, or the bhakti-vedÄntas, are impartial in distributing the transcendental knowledge of devotional service. To them no one is enemy or friend; no one is educated or uneducated. No one is especially favorable, and no one is unfavorable. The bhakti-vedÄntas see that the people in general are wasting time in false sensuous things. Their business is to get the ignorant mass of people to reestablish the lost relationship with the Personality of Godhead. By such endeavor, even the most forgotten soul is roused up to the sense of spiritual life, and thus being initiated by the bhakti-vedÄntas, the people in general gradually progress on the path of transcendental realization. So the vedÄnta-vÄdÄ«s initiated the boy even before he became self-controlled and was detached from childish sporting, etc. But before the initiation, he (the boy) became more and more advanced in discipline, which is very essential for one who wishes to make progress in the line. In the system of varṇÄÅ›rama-dharma, which is the beginning of actual human life, small boys after five years of age are sent to become brahmacÄrÄ«s at the guru’s ÄÅ›rama, where these things are systematically taught to every boy, be he a king’s son or the son of an ordinary citizen. The training was compulsory not only to create good citizens of the state but also to prepare the boys’ future life for spiritual realization. The irresponsible life of sense enjoyment was unknown to the children of the followers of the varṇÄÅ›rama system. A boy was even injected with spiritual acumen before being placed by the father in the womb of the mother. Both the father and the mother were responsible for the boy’s success in being liberated from the material bondage. That is the process of successful family planning. It is to beget children for complete perfection. Without being self-controlled, without being disciplined and without being fully obedient, no one can become successful in following the instructions of the spiritual master, and without doing so, no one is able to go back to Godhead.